Tharsis
"How beautiful it is, to see one's children grow beyond oneself. To see the trust placed in me not lead to folly, but to our Guardian's Truths. To find our ancestors waiting for us with open arms..."
--Minister Ramadan Al-Tahr, the first Minister of Tharsis, before his death, in 17.12.20 AB.
A monument to compromise in a land so deadly that the scorched earth kills as many as it's blood-hungry inhabitants. Tharsis is the acknowledgement that the peoples of the Bronze Sea-the Reivantan's, the Kenku, the Desert Elves, the Hobgoblins-have fought each other for every drop of water in their barbaric past, and they can achieve much more by sharing resources.
However, even after the Great Pilgrimage of 2 AB that discovered the Oasis and began the city, that founding sentiment often times becomes just that; a sentiment.
--The center sector of Tharsis is known as the Heart of Tharsis, where towers and bridges extend upward and over each other, all around the center place of worship.
At first glance, Tharsis is a beautifully crafted city made of sandstone and mortar, but on the streets citizens journey hooded, quietly... and aside from the busy trade market, the city is mainly filled with sounds of crafts and livestock. That isn't to say that the city is unfriendly, yet there is usually a veil between every face, and secrets behind many doors.
This is the part of the world that mines and excavates magic for the wealthy in Tharsis, as well as the City-States, yet keeps none of it for it's own legally.
--Inside the great pyramid at the center of the Heart of Tharsis, known as the Guardian's Watch.
Government
Tharsis is a Theocratic Republic, they are governed by The Minister and his Archdeacons, elected faces for the sixteen Churches, who decide upon the Minister to rule the Bronze Sea. They lay claim to Kalaharii completely, although they know little about whats actually in it, and they wish to map the Hunter's Circle, as it is the only part of the Bronze Seas that could be strategically traversed. The operations here are owned by House Min'ekari, but House Stormborn (at the order of Lofus Stormborn) commandeer the rights to purchase 100% of the magical goods found. This is leading to tension. House Stormborn knows it cannot enforce protectorate laws on such a far-flung spice colony that they didn't even found, and House Min'ekari knows it cannot totally deny the magic-controlling House, due to them needing magic and the Ink themselves. The merchant House knows it could sell small objects for fortunes. However, a major player is the government of Tharsis.Society
There is no vertical movement of classes in Tharsis, where you are born is where you die, with potential minor increases in wealth. This is upset suddenly by the Houses coming and taking control of some business, as suddenly they need guards and mercenaries for jobs, and this allows people to risk their lives for more wealth. This isn't really possible working any other sort of legal job, except as guards for merchants and the city itself, but that pays much less than actual mercenary work. Raiding, robbing, ruin pillaging, and trading are other ways to gain money and improve one's life, if less lucrative and safe than other prospects in the north. Seldom, however, is that the focus of the people, as they desire simply to live as the Guardians command them to.How beautiful, indeed...
Location under
18,000 as of 852 AB.
22,000 as of 854 AB.
Demographics:
Reivantan Human 36%
Jerian 23% (Hob 12, Gob 6, Bug 5)
Desert Elf 20%
Other Humans 8%
Kenku 6%
Other Elves 4%
Dwarf 2%
Aarakokra 1%
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